The Power of Film and Film Festivals

The power of movies can change the world. The issues we face today can be about perspective or lack thereof. The admonition to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes means before judging someone, you must understand his experiences, challenges, thought processes, etc. Movies can take us there movies may have been our first virtual experience.

Since my first job was working at the local small town movie theater at the age of 12 I got exposed to the world beyond my front door. The Playhouse Theater in Aspen Colorado is where I got my Cinema Paradiso experience. The adventures of Bond took me to foreign lands. I also got a shot into independent film making through the local Aspen Film Festival. I saw some early work from animators that would later become my mentors here in Portland; names like Rose Bond, Joanna Priestly, Joan Gratz, Jim Blashfield and Will Vinton.

As I grew up and tried to find my way in the world I became attracted to the crazy world of Animation through the Aspen Film Fest in 1980. I moved to Aspen in the late 70’s, however when Aspen was just becoming a ski town it was visited by animation visionary Walt Disney. He used to grace the early slopes of my old town. I am sure my skis crossed a few of the same trails but it would take me another 15 or so years before I would enter the world of animation as a filmmaker in Portland, Oregon.

So many times I tried to enter my films in festivals like Aspen only to bump into the typical small town politics of my childhood, however as a filmmaker my first acceptance into the world of film making came from a small international animation festival called Cinanima in Esphinho Portugal. This is a small festival but is known for finding the diamonds in the rough and has launched many animation careers.

As a kid I began to see the importance of film and how individuals could almost vicariously learn through the characters on the screen. My first double feature was at the famous old broken-down Wheel Opera House on East Hyman Avenue. My first double feature would show me the difference between the old cultures of Japan and the old west in the United States. It was The Seventh Samurai followed by The Magnificent Seven with Steve McQueen. There were so many interesting things about this pairing, but what struck me most was Samurais vs. Cowboys. They were both riding the range and protecting their folks. Both films were about fighting for those not able to fight for themselves. I also noticed how Akira Kurosawa’s Seventh Samurai used black and white to focus on story and how John Sturges color westerns brought us into the story.

I have always felt that movies served more than just to entertain, they were meant to make folks laugh, think and discuss things they may not have ever experienced before. The magic of movies transcends the screen and into each viewer. Movies allow the filmmakers to visually communicate with their audiences and thus film festivals have been an important cultural influences ever since the first movie was cast.

Since I moved out of Aspen and into Portland the year after my wedding in 1993, we made the Telluride Film Festival my family’s Colorado fun reunion and have been going ever since. I am glad to know that Telluride’s box canyon means it can only grow so much. All the locally owned stores in Aspen turned into Gucci and Prada, where Telluride has maintained its small town charm. Now in Aspen, buildings are not designed by the talented locals like they used to be.

The Telluride Film Festival also showed me the face of festival politics. When Toronto International Film Festival put filmmakers on notice that if they show at Telluride they will only screen at the end of the festival... trying to scare some filmmakers. Thank god Telluride has names like Werner Herzog and Ken Burns behind them. Those passionate filmmakers that love showing their films up in the mountains of Colorado showed Toronto that some folks don’t care and opt for the small town charm. Toronto is a huge international film festival and Telluride... well it inspired Sundance and still the Telluride Film Festival is just good old Telluride. That’s hard to say now about Aspen. I have hope but for now Telluride is my window into my Colorado past.

Nothing beats going to a film festival as a filmmaker. For me there were two festivals that were very important, the first being my home state’s Denver International Film Festival and the second would be The Mill Valley Film Festival. Both of these festivals are ones you want on your film’s history of travels. The best part is how the film festivals treat all filmmakers the same as the star of the show. By the end of the festival you have become family with the other filmmakers and feels like your new graduating class. As filmmakers, each film has its own history and family of film festivals attached. The first time I met Leonard Maltin was when he was introducing a few films at Telluride but when I actually got our film Hero Sandwich into the Denver International Film Festival, Leonard spent the night hanging out talking with my wife and I about animation.

However you attend film festivals as a fan, filmmaker, or volunteer, each experience is magical. If you get a chance to go to your local film festival I say check it out, it’s the best way to see what is out there beyond the big studio formula. This is where folks like Robert Rodriguez were put on the historic map with his student film El Mariachi. Film festivals are where you get to see who may be the next great director and by seeing the films and talking about them you become part of that filmmaker’s success. Film festivals become the places that tie filmmakers to their fans.

If it was not for Telluride Slum Dog Millionaire would have never made the Oscars. The director Danny Boyle had a friend in the festival curating department and begged Danny to show the film at Telluride before signing with HBO for DVD and streaming. By the first screening Danny was talking theatrical release and possible Oscar with major distribution folks at Telluride. From this point on I knew the Telluride Film Festival was magic and we were all part of what made it so. Support your local film festivals and independent filmmakers.